THE RUPEE: Rates climb

The rupee climbed on the back of dollar's weakness on the local money market on Monday in the process of trading activity, dealers said.

INTER-BANK MARKET RATES: The rupee managed to hold last week firmness in relation to the dollar, picking up about 10 paisas for buying and selling at Rs 154.96 and Rs 154.98 respectively, they said.

OPEN MARKET RATES: The rupee followed the same pattern versus the dollar, gaining 10 paisas for buying and selling at Rs 154.60 Rs 154.90 respectively, they said. The rupee did not move any side for against the euro for buying at 170.00 while it picked up 20 paisas for selling Rs 171.50, they said.

In the first Asian trade, the dollar held firm on Monday after data showed surprise strength in the US jobs market, but the currency was restrained from moving higher by worries about an escalation in the US-China trade war.

The dollar index stood almost flat at 97.706 in mid-Asian trade, after rising 0.3% on Friday. The euro traded at $1.10575, after hitting a one-week low of $1.10395 on Friday.

The dollar changed hands at 108.58 yen. It had lifted to 108.92 yen on the US jobs data before losing momentum.

US non-farm payrolls increased by 266,000 jobs last month, the biggest gain in 10 months, while the unemployment rate ticked back down to 3.5%, its lowest level in nearly half a century.

The dollar was trading against the Indian rupee at Rs 71.118, the greenback was at 4.159 in terms of the Malaysian ringgit and the US currency was available at 7.036 in relation to the Chinese yuan.

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Open Bid       Rs 154.60
Open Offer     Rs 154.90
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Interbank Closing Rates: Interbank Closing Rates For Dollar on Monday.

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Bid Rate       Rs 154.96
Offer Rate     Rs 154.98
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RUPEE IN LAHORE: The Pak rupee recovered its earlier losses versus major foreign currencies including the greenback and the British pound in the open currency market on Monday.

Following lack of buyers' interest in the market, the greenback could not sustain its worth throughout the trading session and ended lower for buying and selling at Rs 154.20 and Rs 154.55 against the Saturday's closing rate of Rs 154.65 and 155.15 respectively, local currency dealers said.

Likewise, the national currency also followed the suit in relation to the pound sterling which was bought and sold at Rs 201.40 and Rs 202.50 against the previous closing trend of Rs 201.75 and Rs 203.00 respectively, they added.

RUPEE IN ISLAMABAD AND RAWALPINDI: The rupee remained firm against the dollar at the open currency markets of Islamabad and Rawalpindi here on Monday.

The dollar opened at Rs 155.20(buying) and Rs 155.30(selling) against same last week's rate.

It closed at Rs 155.20(buying) and Rs 155.30(selling).

The buying and selling rates of one tola of gold were Rs. 85,500(selling) and Rs 85,200 (buying) in the local Sarafa (gold) markets of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.